Leave a bone for In Memory of Jack Nicknames: Mr. Fish, Bestest and Mostest, Super Kyle Tao Man, The Honeybee, ManDog, PondAMan, Action Jackson, Black Jack Tony, Mr. Very Furry Likes: Jack likes to walk, pond, ride in the truck with his head out the window, and check the perimeter. Pet-Peeves: Jack does not like to be left at home. Favorite Toy: Jack likes his Billy Bass and Bite Meez Alligator. He also likes the Black Kong. Favorite Food: Jack likes to snack on boiled chicken. He likes Purina One Sr. for meals. Favorite Walk: Jack likes to walk around the pond so he can cool off by ponding. Best Tricks: Jack rings a bell for food. Arrival Story: I went over to a friend's house. He was sitting on the couch eating barbecued ribs. I could hear a puppy crying. "What is that noise," I said. (Chew chew smack smack lick lick napkin) "It's a puppy I found down at the end of the road hiding in the ditch pipe." I gently retrieved the puppy from behind the couch. He was small and black, and didn't even look old enough to be weaned. He sat very still on my knee while I pulled 17 ticks off with tweezers and daubed a little antiseptic on each spot. Only then did he stop crying. We looked into one another's eyes. I experienced the oddest, fleeting sensation that I have never been able to describe, but have never forgotten, and I turned to my friend and said, "Can I take him with me?" I already had five dogs, and I sure didn't need another one, but from the moment I looked into his eyes I was determined to have him. He told me I could take him home, but that I had to bring him back. I got Jack a cardboard box, cut a hole in it, and placed it upside down in the house. Inside he had a little doggie bed and some toys. That was his cave. Well, I never took Jack back. He's right here, right now, and his cave is underneath my four poster bed. This year (2006) we will celebrate his 10th birthday. Bio: One day Jack and I walked about 2 1/2 miles around the power company lake dike and went down to where one of the spillways emptied and became a little creek which eventually empties into the Waccamaw River. While the grassy banks had been mowed by the power company, there were rushes a couple of feet high right at the edge of the water. Noting that Jack was particularly interested in a spot in the rushes, and just about to stick his head in, I scolded him away and went over to have a look myself, expecting it was probably a snake. I stopped about a foot away and bent over slightly so I could see, but I didn't see anything. When I turned to locate Jack, he was frozen in position, staring fixedly at a location very close to the position of my feet. Well, having been taught to never approach a snake, Jack points them. He points a snake until you see it and run it away. One afternoon he pointed the little evergreen bush at the front door, and after several attempts to get him to come on and let's go, I finally decided to prove to him that there was no snake in the evergreen bush. Boy was I surprised when I peered into the top of the little bush and a six foot rat snake peered back at me. Anyway, I followed Jack's gaze to the spot he was fixated on, trying not to move anything but my eyes, and it was worse than I ever expected. While I was peeping down into the weeds, a huge cottonmouth water moccasin had crawled out, apparently a couple of feet down from the spot I had been looking in, and was lying in an s curve right in front of my feet. Worse than that, he had his head drawn back and his mouth open. Before I could even take all this in, much less decide how to get out of the predicament, there was a black blur and the snake was gone. I will never forget looking at this enormous snake in Jack's jaws. There was snake writhing everywhere out of both sides of his mouth, and I screamed at the top of my lungs. Apparently that startled Jack, and he slung the snake straight up into the air. If I hadn't moved it would have landed, I believe, around my neck. I jumped so fast, tried to run at the same time, and succeeded in running my legs right out from under me. I hit the ground like a lead balloon and when I rolled over Jack was right there, his black face peering in concern at mine. I clutched his fur and we watched the big black monster make good time back to the water. The thing is, any one of my eight dogs, some abused and all discarded like trash by the side of the road, would have acted as Jack did in the same situation. That is the nature of the dog. And that is why I really dislike it when people say to me, "Oh really, it's only a dog." No, I say, he is a very special being who would lay down his life for me, my best friend, and an honored member of my family. That's who Jack is. Forums Motto: I am the Honeybee The Groups I'm In: "DOGSTERHOLICS", "Rimadyl" Victims, ♥ Ratties and labs♥, Beach Dogs!!, Black dogs, Carolina Canines, Concerned Owners for Vaccination Education, CuRL tAiLs, Dogs with Cancer, Michael Vick Should Be Banned From The NFL, President Isabel's Animal Abuse Commission, SC Dogs, Senior Citizen Status, Seniors, The Dogster Force The Last Forum I Posted In: "Redemption" the book HSUS
I had him since he was a little baby boy. He wasn’t even old enough to be weaned, and he was living in a ditch and sleeping in the ditchpipe. He was so little he sat quite comfortably on my knee while I pulled 17 ticks off with the tweezers and rubbed antiseptic on each little spot. Then he stopped crying and looked into my eyes. I felt the strangest sensation, and from that moment I loved him fiercely.
He protected his home, his truck, and me. Although he was trained to stay away from snakes he attacked a cottonmouth that had crawled out of rushes and was at my feet drawn back to strike. He barked and barked and finally jumped up in the bed on top of me when the kitchen was on fire. He bit a drunken man who followed me out of a convenience store and stuck his arm inside the vehicle. He could smell an animal or person going by outside even from his “cave” underneath my bed.
He made me happy every day for 11 years. He took great joy in life and played like a puppy until the very end, when he was too tired. Even then he tried. Although he wasn’t much for a lot of snuggling, hugging, and kissing, he always followed me from room to room and stayed very close. He had an outstanding personality, and caused people to laugh and smile everywhere he went.
Because of my love for him I learned to look at things I always thought that I was too sensitive to tolerate, and to try to change them.
He had a big heart and a lot of guts. He endured the removal of eight tumors over a period of a year awake, with local anesthetic only. When I was on my knees on his blanket while the euthanasia technician was giving him the final injection, his veterinarian was right beside me on his knees. I told my Jackie that he was the best dog in the whole world, and his veterinarian told him that he was his best patient. I have no doubt that he meant it.
Jack the ManDog was one of a kind, and I consider myself the most fortunate person in the world to have had him.
From Jack's funeral service, 9/4/07:
And God said, "Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creatures that move along the ground, and wild animals, each according to its kind." And it was so. God made the wild animals according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.
To live in this world you must be able to do three things: to love what is mortal; to hold it against your bones knowing your own life depends on it; and, when the time comes to let it go, to let it go. We commit into God's hands this day His loving creature, Jack. Thank you for his life, and help us to celebrate each and every day the joy he brought to us, instead of dwelling upon what his death has taken away.
Amen
Okie dokie lemon smokie I've been love tagged. It's good to be loved. Kiba said: "You've been love tagged because... you are the Original MAN DOG and I love a family of rescued pups!" I wuf you too Kiba!
OK - here's the deal. This is love tag. Pick 3 dogsters you think are really pawriffic and paw a little about why. Let them know how much they are loved with a rosette or a p mail!
I am love tagging Smiley because he is a real trooper and I love to follow his travels.
I am love tagging Misha because he is a real doggy dog like me and a handsome black animule.
I am love tagging Pudden because she reminds me of my vigorous love to pull packmate The White Jammin' Lady - Pudden can go!
I was first diagnosed with mast cell cancer in April 2006 - I have written about it in my diary before. In April of 2007 I had another tumor in my neck about 5 inches away from the prior one and it was also mast cell cancer. After that, a lymph node in my neck swelled up and my veterinarian sent me to the new oncologist several hours away.
The oncologist confirmed that the mast cell cancer had spread to my lymph node and stated that I needed:
1) Surgery;
2) A series of radiation treatments;
3) A course of chemotherapy.
She stated that for each rad. treatment I would have to be anesthetized and be away from home for three weeks each time, and that she did not recommend it for dogs who don't do well away from home. She said surgery alone would not do any good as there were many lymph nodes in the head and neck and they could not remove them all. Finally, she stated all of this would not be a cure - it might slow the progression of the cancer down or it might not.
Because I am 11 years old and have never been away from Mom, not even overnight, Mom declined the above course of action. She thought it sounded like torturing an old dog until he died anyway.
Mast cells in humans are primarily located in the nose, and the chemicals they release cause human symptoms of allergy. In dogs, they are primarily concentrated in the feet, and this accounts for why a dog with allergy chews his feet. When a dog has mast cell cancer, the mast cells release their chemicals big time, and this can cause all kinds of problems. The histamine release causes an increase in gastric acid release into the stomach and can cause a hole in the stomach. It can also cause high blood pressure. Mast cells also release heparin, which causes bleeding. Often a dog will die from the effects of the chemical release before the cancer kills him from spreading to the liver or spleen.
So I am on medications to alleviate symptoms of the mast cells chemical release. These include pepcid to help protect my tummy, Benadryl to try to decrease the histamine release, and prednisone for the swelling.
I've been on these medications about 21 days, and so far I still have a good appetite and a good quality of life, although I do fatigue easily now and sleep a lot.
My Mom tries not to let me know she is upset, but I see her come home when she has gone somewhere without me with her eyes all red and swollen. We have been together since I was six weeks old and we've been through a lot. She is trying hard to be strong for me.
The Dog Show: Who's Your Mama?
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